“Sea of Love”“Mar de amor”

“Sea of Love”

Massive support for immigrant activist

Story and photos by Gregg McQueen

Advocates rallied to show support.

They walked, they chanted, they prayed.

Hundreds of people descended on Foley Square in Lower Manhattan on Thurs., March 9, to rally behind prominent immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir, who was preparing to attend an annual check-in meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that morning.

The Trinidad-born Ragbir is a well-known advocate who heads the New Sanctuary Coalition, an interfaith group that assists immigrants facing detention and deportation.

Some of the activists wore formal religious clothing, and a group gathered in front of 26 Federal Plaza with hands held aloft in what they termed a “silent prayer”.

The rally also featured speeches from numerous activists and elected officials.

“We are here for the thousands of people who get up every morning thinking it could be their last day in the United States,” said Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

Donna Liebermann, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, noted that immigrant New Yorkers attend ICE hearings every day in attempt to “play by the rules,” but she said the executive orders of President Donald Trump have still threatened that population.

Activist Ravi Ragbir (center, with long hair) prepared to meet with ICE officials.

“Now, however, we are told that even when they play by the rules, they can be taken into custody and face deportation,” she said.

Ragbir came to the United States in 1991 and obtained a green card in 1994. But he was convicted on a wire charge fraud in 2001 and spent several years in prison, then received a deportation order upon his release.

Ragbir received a stay on that order based on prosecutorial discretion, which allows ICE to decide on a yearly basis how to handle his case.

He said the election of Donald Trump has made the country inhospitable to immigrants and vulnerable populations.

In prayer.

“There’s a lot of hate out there,” said Ragbir, addressing supporters. “There are walls being built for hate.”

“But when I look out at you, this is a sea of love,” he added.

Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez complained that Trump’s actions are endangering “hardworking people who are established” in the United States.

He referenced the popular Broadway musical Hamilton and its theme of immigrants helping to found the country.

Advocates said that immigrants are living in fear due to the executive orders of Trump.

“People are terrified,” said Becky Salatan, a resident of Northern Manhattan. “They’re afraid of being ripped from their families, ripped from their jobs.”

Carole, an organizer with New Sanctuary Coalition, said that since Trump’s immigration-related orders were issued, her group has received an increase spike in calls from immigrants who want accompaniment to ICE hearings.

“People feel they don’t want to go in without assistance,” she said.

Ragbir exited the building after about an hour and told supporters he was advised by ICE that he was not yet being placed in a deportation hearing.

However, Ragbir was told by his ICE agent that he needed to return in one month for another check-in and make efforts to obtain a travel document, he explained.

“They asked if I have a passport,” he said. “And when they ask for that, it usually means one thing.”